Page 23 of A Match Made in Hell
‘My presence is required on occasion. It helps to keep things in order.’
‘Isn’t that what your demons are for? They look scarier than you.’ I make a show of inspecting him. ‘Or do your horns only come out when you’re mad?’
His lips twitch. ‘I don’t have horns. Visible or otherwise.’
A group of humans give us curious glances as they exit the cave, and all emotion dissipates from his face. He nods at me like I’m no more than a stranger he’s passed on the street, making to go inside, but –
‘Wait,’ I say. ‘What about the next task? You said we’d talk –’
‘Nothere.’ Shadows ripple down his arms. He jerks his head for me to follow him away from the entrance, into a nearby alcove sandwiched between two great columns of rock, one that’s too narrow for us both to stand in comfortably without touching.
‘We shouldn’t speak in public,’ he says. ‘If word gets out about the tasks they’ll be queuing for my attention.’
‘You spoke to me first,’ I remind him. ‘And I wouldn’t have to ask questions if you told me what I wanted to know. My next task. When is it?’
‘Next month, we’ll –’
‘Nextmonth?’ I don’t shriek, but it’s close. ‘I can’t wait a month! I have to –’
‘There will be one a month until you finish. Or fail.’ His toneis flat, and I can’t read whether he’s annoyed by my outrage or disappointed he’s stuck with me for this length of time. ‘You have six more in total.’
Six more. That’s sixmonths. How am I going to survive here for six months? ‘Sathanas – Your Majesty –’ My fingers curl into the fabric of his shirt.
‘Sath will do,’ he says, like that’s the most important part of the conversation.
‘Sath.’ I yank the material so hard he’s forced to brace a hand above my head to prevent from crashing into me. ‘I amnotstaying here for six months.’
He pulls my clenched fist away from his shirt, forcing it to drop back to my side. ‘It’s the way it is.’
‘But –’ My complaint is cut short by the feeling of Sath going rigid. ‘What is it?’
He presses a finger to my lips, and it’s blazing hot, like heated metal. ‘Stay here.’
I’m left standing alone in the alcove, scowling at the empty space he’s left behind. You’d think after all the practice I’ve had that I’d be good at doing what I’m told, but the part of me I’ve never been able to tame, the part that always dreamed of more to my existence than textbooks and early nights, has me bouncing on my feet, not wanting to stay anywhere.
Tentatively, I lean out and peek round the column to see what’s upset him. The demon with the shaggy hair from yesterday is heading our way, dragging his bony tail along the ground. It ends in a sharp spike that emits sparks as it moves. Show-off.
‘Aric,’ Sath calls out as the demon approaches. ‘You’re not going into Dionysus?’
‘Not today. A human looked at me funny. Now we’re playing hide-and-seek.’
‘I see.’ Although Sath’s tone is clipped, he doesn’t addanything to dissuade Aric, which is ridiculous whenof coursethis human was looking at him funny. Aric has sharp claws and a spiked tail; who wouldn’t do a double take at that? My foot taps a beat. I want to say something. Do something. But bursting into the open is something Bad Decision Willow would do, and I’m only making good decisions from now on.
I dig my nails into my palms.
‘I’m going to tear him apart when I find him,’ Aric says dreamily.
The scrape of metal on rock makes me wince, sounding the alarm that he’s resumed his journey.
‘No,’ Sath says. ‘Bring him to me. I’ll do it.’
I freeze. All that talk about how this place was a fresh start, a chance to live again, and his only response to a non-existent infraction is to offer to provide the punishment himself? Some middle ground.
‘Aric!’ A third voice chimes from the corridor. ‘Look who I’ve found.’
I recognise that voice. It’s the Sorter, only she sounds a lot happier than when I last saw her. And I have a horrible feeling I know exactly who she’s found. My stomach drops. Surely,surely, Sath will put a stop to this now.
All he says is, ‘Allow me.’
